The All Blacks should secure their place in the World Cup quarterfinals with victory over valiant Uruguay in Lyon on Thursday.
New Zealand v Uruguay
Thursday 5 October
Groupama Stadium
New Zealand N/A | Draw 66/1 | Uruguay 33/1
Pound for pound, Los Teros have been inarguably one of the teams of the tournament. They narrowly went down 12-27 to hosts France in their opener and led Italy 17-7 at half-time in their second matchup before ultimately succumbing to a 17-38 defeat. Last week, they overcame a 14-point deficit to earn a 36-26 win over Namibia.
Regardless of the result on Thursday, coach Esteban Meneses and his squad can be immensely proud of what they’ve achieved during their time in France and should know that, despite World Rugby’s perpetual incompetence at growing the game in lower tier rugby nations, their efforts won’t be in vain.
Good will come from the performances they’ve put in over the past few weeks for the next generation of Uruguyan players.
Verdict: NZ (-67.5) 9/10
